Welcome to the Spoiler Zone, everyone!
This is for those of you who want to discuss spoilers, from a “I’ve seen the show and WOW now I’m noticing all these other details in retrospect” sort of angle.
Here’s a Spoiler Zone for you to dig as deep as you’d like, into spoiler territory, WITHOUT the need for spoiler tags or other warnings.
My only request is, PLEASE BE EXTRA MINDFUL OF WHERE YOU ARE COMMENTING. Meaning, please don’t get mixed up, and start talking spoilers in the Open Thread, which could seriously mar the watch experience for a new viewer, OR, a viewer who would really prefer to have the rewatch feel as fresh as possible.
Other than that, READER BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
For the main discussion of episodes 1 & 2, which only deals with spoilers up to the point of the group watch, go here.
ENJOY YOUR SPOILER ZONE, MY FRIENDS! ❤️
Could someone advise me whether this would be an inappropriate comment for the Open thread?
Having seen the show a couple years ago, I already know the answer to my query at the end, but this really is what I was thinking when I first watched the cafe scene in Ep. 2.
At the moment, I’m inclined not to post it. Maybe later, when he starts working at the office and is again super dorky and awkward…
I was wondering about that scene too. If he is trying to be undercover he is drawing a lot of attention to himself. Especially with the stuttering.
From what we see later, I think it’s totally real. For example, the scenes where he joins the investigative reporters as an office intern.
This is another way in which Beez’ comparison to Superman is spot on. Clark Kent was an awkward dork when he wasn’t doing his Superman action hero bit.
I have to respectfully disagree. Not real. If Healer were really that awkward, he wouldn’t have been able to do his jobs.
Healer behaves differently when he is with Kim Mun-ho before and after KMH finds out that he is the Healer: awkward before and totally confident and relaxed after.
When Chae Young-shin leads Healer by holding his hand during the first day he comes to the office, at first he walks very awkwardly. When she doesn’t look at him, he straightens up and relaxes. Once she turns around to look at him, Healer immediately starts walking awkwardly again.
During the confession on the roof scene, Chae Young-shin tells Healer that he seemed very different to her, and he immediately begins to stutter and behaving awkwardly again.
After the fight scene in the coffee shop (episode 20) he confidently talks to the father and the uncle, although he was always acting awkwardly before.
At the end of the show, when Healer stops pretending, the office people say he is very different.
There are plenty of other scenes.
Although sometimes Healer behaves a bit awkward for real.
maria, here we meet again. i just posted my thought on that, but now reading your comment, i think you are right, totally.
Excellent. A difference of opinion!
This will be a good topic to revisit throughout the show.
Hi. I wonder how often we will agree or disagree during these discussions 😊
mmmm….
Will there be a betting pool?
that’s up to you, guys.
maria, well, may be it is a “reverse revenge” or may be “remorse” for my mister. but we did gang up on da-mi at the time. so who knows. the future is ours.
Oh, that poor clueless Da-Mi…
On another note, if I were totally honest, I’ll have to wait and see how enthusiastic I’ll be about discussing Healer. It’s a very cool show, and I enjoyed watching it, but it didn’t affect me as much as SLA and, especially, MM did.
Apples and oranges, for sure.
Of course. But I wasn’t talking about the quality of the shows. I meant that a show has to affect me deeply to turn me into a “passionate debater”.
What does SLA stand for?
Secret Love Affair
TY
o no, maria. but i need you here. please do not leave us!
Thank you. Well, we are off to a good start, so I think I’ll stick around.
maria, think I’ll stick around. – i think so too, and hope so too. don’t worry, you’ll be sucked into it. i can not see you sitting on the side, just quietly observing the action. you are the ACTION. (can’t compete with healer, but here you are it.) see ya.
Wow! Healer. It’s quite a compliment. Thank you!
And it’s going to be hard not to get “sucked into it”, when you are here.😊
unfortunately, you might find yourself bored, as so far i agree with your assessment. should i reconsider, just for the sake of fun?
I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure we’ll find something to disagree about. Just wait.
just don’t try to run and jump on the roofs. other than this, the compliment stands.
Yeah. “Do not try this at home.”
I don’t think there is much of a danger of that. Not at my age.
I agree with you, Maria! He seems to be the master of disguise, but indeed, sometimes Healer behaves a bit awkward for real, especially in situations related with family life (since he didn’t experience any). For example, he isn’t quite himself when Young-shin’s dad asks him (as Park BS) to eat breakfast with them.
Exactly. Out of his comfort zone.
but due to the nature of his “occupation” for the last 8 years, he should be able to handle being out of any comfort zone. does it even exist for him? he must have found himself during these years in all kind of “zones”, so i do not think that her father (or uncle or guardian, or whatever you want to call him or whoever it is) will cause him even the slightest confusion, he’s a master of detaching himself from any situation and just doing the job at hand. remember, after all, this situation is also a job for him, even if he starts to get emotionally evolved with her. but i think a job is a job for him, only much later in the show does he switch his attitude, but many “waters will flow by in this river”, until we see that.
although i did not think of it before, as i did not think that it changes anything, those discussions made me think more about it, and now i feel all he does is intentional, it just does not “happen” to him, he’s in control.
Two totally different personas. Healer the night delivery guy doesn’t need to feel anything. He just thinks logically and acts accordingly.,
He doesn’t have much experience interacting with people in a way that includes feelings.
not exactly, he does have feelings to his mother (remember when he comes to visit her as a boy, (and although those are not warm fuzzy feelings of a son to mother), it is still raw emotions. and then in the restaurant, when he runs to protect her. he also has emotions to his teacher – remember when the teacher walks out on him – that is raw emotions. i also believe that he has emotions to ajuma – his partner, but also sort of “motherly” attitude that she displays towards him. at the end, when her place is discovered by the DS group, he displays concern and care for her, also stemming from emotions. so may be he does not recognize it as such, he does have those experiences.
True.
I didn’t mean to suggest he has never felt emotion. Clearly, he has deeply embedded emotional baggage, unresolved from childhood.
I’m just saying his adult experience, interacting with other humans as equals and as emotional beings, is quite thin.
He’s a total hermit and doesn’t need that type of interaction for his night delivery persona.
His relationship with his handler/ahjumma-hacker is pretty much it. And even that is primarily a business relationship, regardless of how much they care about each other. He’s never even met her, face-to-face.
.
@eda – but that’s why @merij started his post by saying Healer has two personas…
@beez — Superman vs. Clark Kent.
Your observation, which I hadn’t read yet when I first posted my comment!
But merij1 is not saying Healer doesn’t have emotions but at this point in the story he is totally suppressing his real self. He has no reason to be his real self. To embrace Seo Jung-Hoo, is to embrace pain and all that anger.
Recall that part of why Jung hoo feels an urgent need to find out what really happened to his father is that he states he often contemplates suicide just like his father. Until Young shin comes into his life, Jung hoo is only existing. That’s why he clings to her so much and that’s why (to bring this back to the subject 😆) he becomes nervous around her Dad and Ahjusshi because he wants their approval as part of being able to be with Young shin.
He doesn’t have much experience interacting with people in a way that includes feelings.
True. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t have these feelings. He suppresses them, mostly.He acts on them, when it’s important. I don’t believe people can have two totally different personas, unless there are real mental health issues.
complete agreement. (wow, this is getting out of hand, please do not get bored. although, you do not think it’s a danger, i’m still a bit concerned.)
yes, “he acts on them when outs important” but there’s nothing important to him personally – yet. Not at this point in the story.
Come to think of it, I don’t think Healer has two personas. I see him more of an actor. Actors can play many parts, but they are who they are.
that’s exactly how i see him – a great actor. although actors playing a character, can get really into their character, to a degree becoming that character, like you ah in, who does it with utmost perfection. it looks to me like healer is this kind of actor.
@MariaF @eda – but remember Healer struggled himself knowing who is real self is because he’s always “on”.
Healer was always “on”, because he had no reason to be “off”. He had no one to be “off”with. Healer had no personal life. Only after Youngshin appeared in his life, it became important to Healer to be himself and to know who he really is.
He can handle anything but emotional involvement. I think that breakfast scene was one of the early indications that Healer’s ‘Superman’s facade’ starts to crumble.
not sure, but i am willing to entertain this thought.
although, in a way, we as humans are all in a way “emotional cripples”, some more than others. (we are back to question of LIFE). see below my response to merij, in regards to emotions. in all those cases he displayed emotions that are pretty much in line with normal responses to human emotions. so why can’t he handle it?
so why can’t he handle it?
Because of his fear of an emotional involvement, perhaps?
Healer was abandoned by his mother, his grandmother (she died, but still), his mentor. He suppressed a lot of his childhood memories.
Adjuma is his only remaining human connection, and she is pretty much just a voice in his head.
Thank G-d, Healer didn’t end up being as emotionally damaged as many abandoned children did in real life.
@MariaF – I’m nodding my head. Yup.
it is a given that abandonment creates very deep scars in any human, the difference is how this human reacts to this, can he overcome this and can he use it as a painful but valuable lesson. in case of our character healer, he has exceptionally high IQ, (that is how he’s able to accomplish most complicated assignments and be the BEST in this field). he might lack experience in EQ, but in my opinion he’s a quick learner and knows how to compensate.
yes, i agree he keeps away from people in general in his private life, (most likely due to this issue of abandonment ) he dreams of a life with a wild cat or wolf on a deserted island – he is deliberately choosing a future without other people. although an attachment to an animal is also pure emotion, anybody who had an animal knows it quite well. an animal is a safe emotional choice for him. here we see the result of his emotional scars, although he does not abandon to feel emotions, he will raise and love this animal. but… the emotional world is not just black and white, and the potential to fall in love (with a woman) is there for any man (well, almost any). it really does not take him very long to admit to ajuma that he has fallen for this girl (after all, he IS in touch with his emotions, and his high IQ, helps him to figure this out). and he quickly comes to a conclusion that he wants her in his life ( the wild cat is replaced by this girl), and he does move on following this emotion and this revelation in himself. that’s why i say he’s able to handle it, and does handle it, even ready to give up all that he built till now for himself. i have the highest respect for him for being able to give it all up for love.
beez says: there’s nothing important to him personally – yet. Not at this point in the story. but we are in the spoiler zone, and so we are not speaking of this moment, but the whole story in general.
Again, I don’t know…
Healer was able to handle the transition, because he fell in love with Youngshin. She made it relatively easy.
I know that people are supposedly replaceable and interchangeable, but sometimes a person just uniquely matches what the other person wants and needs. Like JA in MM. Nobody could do what she did for DH. Nobody.
What if Healer fell for someone different? These things happen. Ok, I probably shouldn’t talk hypothetically (we are already talking about a fictional world), but still.
It was pure luck that Healer met Youngshin ( well, luck and Korean drama tropes).
So, for me, it’s debatable whether Healer could handle emotions as easily under different circumstances.
@MariaF – for me, this OTP is not the usual Kdrama tropes where they just decide “oh, they should be each other’s first loves. Let’s throw a childhood meeting in here for good measure.” This time, what happened to their families in their childhood is the catalyst for everything that happens later. That’s why I love the writing here. Their past relationship makes sense and feels organic to the story, to me.
It’s probably nitpicking, but as far as I’m concerned, these are still the usual tropes. It’s the way they are used is unusual: for example, the writer doesn’t just throw a childhood meeting in here for good measure, but makes it an integral and organic part of the story.
Yes. To me, it’s tropey when the “significant shared childhood connection” is tossed in as an added element to create drama.
But in a story like this, that shared connection is broadcast from the very start as the central premise of the story.
Another trope I just enjoyed was the makeover that was for both of them. Jung-hoo had to be chased. And it was very much a part of the plot!
@mon mor – my whistle is not even as good as Young shin but I’m whistling inside my head at how spiffy our OTP looked!
@mon mor: great example.
Beez, maybe you can explain it to me: why is he wearing a suit and a coat, if she is wearing just a sleeveless dress with a décolleté? Very odd.
So she could stand out when she was asking the politician questions!
Agree, but it was later.
When I saw them together, my thought was: either he is sweating, or she is freezing.
i saw exactly such outfits for men and women at formal dinners, parties… and always thought it was so unfair, men feeling comfy, women freezing to death.
@Eda – especially at the awards shows in December… The poor women are freezing to death. Designers – give those ladies a shawl or something.
😆
@Maria F @eda harris @ mon mor
*Doink* I’m so slow! Consider it my degree in fashion that made me interpret that question being about the styles not meshing together rather than the obvious… one is dressed for winter and one is dressed for warm weather. 🤪
Well, I did feel her dress was rather plain myself and the fabric didn’t look very expensive or special but I guess it served to set off Young chin’s figure, which is what Reporter Moon ho was going for. (He said he wanted her to get attention). And it’s not like Healer has on a tuxedo. He’s just well dressed in a suit and overcoat. I suppose the costume department felt the fur stole that they gave PMY to carry made her outfit fitting with his. What I HATED were the shoes they gave her to wear with that dress!
(Keep in mind that many times on Kdramas, the actors supply their own wardrobes so what we may be looking at is what PMY considered ‘dressed up”.)
I was going to all you why you felt her neckline would be considered as décolleté because it’s not all that revealing but then I remembered… it’s S. Korea.
@beez, i am with you on that, i mean the fashion, and fabric and all that.
Kdramas, the actors supply their own wardrobes – do you want to tell me that they do not have a costume designer? is it a matter of limited budget? that sounds to me so crazy. but i also noticed that it looks sometimes that they do their own make up, and so it looks like a “15 year old making her/his own makeup in a bathroom”. is that true also?
@eda – I know for sure that on most dramas the actresses (I don’t know about the actors) usually wear their own personal clothes. If a role calls for something out of the ordinary, then the production supplies the clothes. (Especially in the dailies. One show I watched last year, the actress kept wearing this really cheap shoes. Her character was not unusually poor. It was driving me mad! As the show went on, over the hundredth episode, it’s like she finally got paid and bought some new shoes; Some new outfits too.)
As far the makeup – I can only infer from scenes of shows within shows that the actors all have their own makeup artists that accompany them for filming in dramas. I’m getting this impression from shows like My Love Eundong (ML is an actor), The Producers (a show about what it takes to produce Kdramas), and many other shows when someone is playing an actor, you’ll see their make up artist either travel with them or meet them on set. Oh! I just remembered another one – Record of Youth. The FL’s (Park So dam) character was a make up artist.
I’m curious – Which dramas did you think the actors’ make up didn’t look good?
When I first started watching Kdramas there was this trend to only put lipstick on one lip. I think it was the upper lip only (but I could be misremembering whether it was the top or bottom lip. Either way it used to irritate me so much!
@beez, i guess i am like you, probably when you are somehow into fashion, your brain gets trained to notice every element, every color combination, every shape and form, in one word -every detail. and when i notice something that stands out, even the smallest thing, it really bothers me. sometimes i wish i would not be like this, but can’t help it. so, in both, korean and chinese productions, many times especially when it is ancient times, the men have their wigs put on so sloppy, that you clearly see the lines of how it was glued on (disgusting) and in the back of the neck their natural short hair sticks our from underneath the wig. when the expressions on their faces changes, it creates wrinkles in the skin, like on a piece of fabric, and i wonder, couldn’t they figure out by now how to do it more neatly? the eyebrows are many times painted so obvious (and you can see the natural line of the eyebrow, but the painted goes somewhere else – up or down and you clearly see the shaved part of the eyebrow -they don’t even try to hide it. also, one brow can be way darker than the other.) that i wonder is it done by a professional or the actor/actress did it personally. the lipstick – they do not even know how to put lipstick and it’s universal in many dramas.
and then… i think i mentioned it to you once… they have so many pimples on their faces, i have never seen anything like this in western productions, like hu ge, ji sung (kill me heal me comes to mind, but it’s in other of his dramas also), even healer has pimples although not as bad. i see it on many faces, especially men, women are somehow better. i know you said you were amazed how good their skin is, but i find the opposite. and shiny skins – it’s like they don’t apply make up at all. and my eyes just stuck on these imperfections, especially the pimples. and you see this incredibly beautiful sculpted face of hu ge, and then “craters” on the face from previous pimples and new ones sticking out and he’s not alone. can’t they take care of such things with make up?
anyway, your revelation that koreans in dramas wear their own clothes – that sounds insane to me, (what if some of them do not even know how to put an outfit together or what fits the period they represent in a drama), but now i can understand. for example, in one spring night han ji-min is a librarian, everything is kind of contemporary and modern, but her clothes look like an old spinster years ago. i could not believe it and it bothered me all the time, although i liked the drama. did she herself thought that she needs to stress that she’s a librarian and in her mind librarians have no sense of fashion, design? do they also skip on costume designs? i remember she had a few interesting shoes, like black with red hill and (i think) yellow with black hills, and some boots with metal heels. all the rest of her clothes should have been donated to some country that had a disaster and had a need for clothes. to me such things look gross.
sorry for going into all this, but you asked…
o, and i forgot, in chicago typewriter you ah in has sweaters with huge holes (same things in secret love affair – tee-shirts with multiple holes). what’s this about?
If I’m not mistaken, these are called distressed clothes. Very trendy.
As far as bad choices go, the ML’s clothes in ‘1% of Something’ were really ‘something’. I can’t imagine that the actor himself own this kind of clothes. They looked ridiculous. Maybe his relatives helped?
these looked more like they were created on purpose, not trendy or fashionable, really. i know the distressed jeans you are talking about. these did not look to me like this, and i question the purpose of that. you ah in from chicago, as a FAMOUS writer with a mega-ego, dresses in very expensive, trendy clothes. and suddenly those sweaters, look like eaten by bugs. in secret love affair, his tea shirts have holes, ok, he is a poor student, so the tea shirt can be with some holes, but not like a gazillion.
Distressed clothes are not necessarily jeans. There are dresses, sweaters, tee shirts, etc. It’s a style, so you are right: these holes are created on purpose.
I posted a picture of a distressed tee shirt somewhere here. It’s pretty expensive. But there are cheaper ones.
Here is more:
This one is by balenciaga.
wow! that is really something. i guess my head is outdated! i haven’t seen such, but haven’t put a foot in any store since the pandemic.
Yep. Paupers’ clothes that only princes can afford.
well, yes, the holes here create a design, whether i like it is a different question. but what i am describing has no rhyme or reason, they look like simply holes, not fashionable stuff.
@eda – remember who we’re talking about here. Yoo Ah in will go all out to make his roles authentic. In Secret Love Affair he’s a student who lives in poverty. In Chicago Typewriter (although I don’t recall his clothes having holes) but he would go for the look of a writer who, while holed up (pun semi intended 😆) in his room cranking out drafts of his novel wears the same comfty clothes, never taking them off to wash them until he’s met whatever goal he’s set for himself to meet as far as progress in his story/number of pages. (That’s my theory even though I never noticed the holes.) 😆 Or maybe like MariaF said – “distressed” is a whole type of style that extends beyond just holes in jeans.
@Maria F – I saw 1% of something (both versions) but I can’t remember how male leads were dressed in either version? Was it wild, bummy, trendy or what?
It was plain ugly!
You said it!
😆
See for yourself.
Another one.
One more. I just can’t resist.
🙂
hahahahaha! I didn’t know it was possible for the “like” button to have negative likes! I guess those jackets did it!
Oh. I see. *duh* That’s what happens when you hit the thumbsdown button. KFG’s site is so full of good people that I’ve never felt the need to dislike a comment so I don’t think I ever realized that there was a thumbsdown button. *kloink* 🤪😂😂😂
That makes two of us Beez.
I think this is the “best” one.
ouuu, gross! i haven’t seen this drama, but just seeing that – you cracked me up. i am almost ” rolling on the floor”. seriously!?
girls, we are too much, taking apart these poor men’s outfits, like high school girls. ha, ha. i am with you, fun.
Someone was definitely having fun, dressing the guy like that. Quite possibly, drugs induced fun.
But this show is my very, very guilty PLEASURE.
I know that it’s not perfect (plot holes and all that), but I don’t care. The OTP there is unbelievable! And the actors are great: they make the show look better than it is.
KFG said in her review that she “inhaled” that show. I know exactly what she meant.
ok, that will be my next drama, sounds promising. and i’ll be prepared (thanks to you girls) to run to the bathroom to throw up, when those outfits will threaten my allergy to “ugly”.
@eda 😄 I may not remember anything about Something About 1% but I remember how I feel about it. I liked it in spite of my luke warm feelings about the actor who plays ML.
Interesting… I feel differently. I thought his acting (no going over the top, etc. ) elevated the show.
@MariaF – my comments are not directed toward how he portrayed the role on 1% of something but rather how I feel about the actor, in general.
Got it. I haven’t seen him anywhere else, except for CLOY, maybe.
He’s always the same. Maybe that’s not his fault. Maybe he just typecast. But *yawn*. Here’s a really good & cute little drama he was in based around office life. https://asianwiki.com/Radiant_Office I watched it for Go Ah sung.
Thank you. I might see it. I don’t want to ruin this actor for me. He was perfect for the role in 1%.
@MariaF – Well since he’s essentially the same character… 😆
Exactly. Right now I can think that he’s one of a kind.
Got cha 👍
maria, i am on the jackets! one is especially earth shattering: the whole ensemble: big blue checkers jacket to die for, striped dark blue vest and a shirt royal blue with white polka dots. i think the tie was with a blue paisley design. It’s quite a site – “coordination to extreme”. i can’t get over the thought that it actually might be the actor’s clothes.
@eda
I’m glad you are enjoying this fashion show.
How are the pants?
my eyes concentrate mainly on the top, after i digest the top parts, i faint. but the pants go with the rest, the whole thing is beyond impressive – in a good way, since it makes me laugh like there is no tomorrow. never ever seen something quite like it.
@eda – you’re making me want to rewatch it because I don’t remember anything except the FL helping Grandpa at the beginning. It sounds fun.
@beez and maria, what i can tell you is that the “dress up” in this drama is a theme on it’s own and stands on it’s own 2 feet – that’s how crushingly surreal the “jackets” are.! (i can’t have enough of them). but the girl’s outfits are not far off also(where do these koreans get their fashion inspirations?) – you need to see it to believe it.
now about the drama itself. i do not know if you beez, will like it, and it kind of does not seem to be somewhat of interest to maria. (i might be wrong). of course, unless the jackets are your major attraction and you are in a need of multiple laughs or a thorough cleansing of your insides by way of throwing up (i had this impulse several times).
as for the drama itself – it’s one of those that from the first few episodes you can already predict the outcome and even the development. that’s a problem (for me) number one.
problem number two (again for me) – it feels like a cheap artificial sweetener (i try to avoid those). it’s a very simple love story, simple like kind of childish, the way the FL behaves and the way their love story progresses.
there is nothing artsy, or touching, or amazing in terms of production, nothing to write home about. and on top, the acting did not impress me at all, i do not like a single actor in it and in general. so it is tough, but i am still watching, waiting for the next set of “jackets” – that’s the main entertainment.
sorry to be that noninspirational.
but if you want a break from heavier stuff, that i happen to like, it can be a good antidote to something like signal or a frozen flower. it will not keep you up at night and will not grab you by the … you know what.
it’s certainly “light and fluffy”. but i would also give it a reward for unmatched fashion creativity (uniqueness).
@eda – I already know I liked it. I just can’t find the time to watch it. I can barely keep up with rewatching Healer and I’ve only re-watched 1 episode of Signal so far.
@eda-
It’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?
But I agree with almost everything you’ve said about this rom-com.
It was a very low-budget production, so there is nothing special about that.
It was probably the third or the fourth Asian show I’ve ever watched. I was so new to the drama world at the time, that I didn’t even realize that that “poor nice girl – nasty rich transformed boy” scenario and other plot developments here were actually tropes (and staples in many other Korean shows).
At the time it looked original to me. Original, and naive, and quite funny. I was amused. Also, it was a nice break from submissive heroines and all that crying/kneeling in SITR or submissive heroines and fish kisses in Heirs. Those two shows also amused me, to be sure, but not in a good way.
However, I disagree with your assessment of ML’s acting (and FL’s too, but to a lesser degree). Other actors are either unremarkable or plain terrible, of course. When I watched the ‘1% of something’ for the first time, I remember thinking “Hmm. ML is pretty good. Too bad his abilities are wasted here”.
I got the same impression when I rewatched the show.
I rewatch foreign language shows, when I think I like the acting. The second watching allows me to pay more attention to actual acting (facial expressions, etc…) and less attention to subtitles.
“1% of something” has a sentimental value for me and remains my guilty pleasure (very guilty). I like it for being very light, simple, fluffy and romantic. And for the amazing OTP chemistry.
But I don’t recommend “1% of something“ to other people as a great show. I mentioned it here because of our discussion on fashion choices, and I said it was my pleasure.
maria, sorry, i do agree, it’s a bit harsh. but i never mastered the art of a diplomat, so i have to live with it – in the future please forgive my blunt “truths”, at least you can be sure that what you hear is what i think and what i feel, i am not able to smooth sharp edges.
i can only add that in addition to all that i said, there was also the element of not liking the way the ML looked (i got used to the mostly handsome faces of the korean actors, and this one was the first one that kind of looked like a teddy bear, with a nose like a potato, and a face looked a bit “puffy”, i don’t know, may be puffy is not the right word, anyway, not sharp, chiseled almost sculptured looks as other korean men faces appear to me. the FL looked much older than she was supposed to be, (especially in some of the shots) with bulging eyes and a face like a persian cat. so, that might have been another problem, and of course the way they dressed did not help.
and i did not find the OTP overly chemistrical.
i still think the jackets were phenomenal – worth “every square on each of them”!!!
@eda @MariaF – you know, I’ve always felt a little sorry for that actor. (We are talking about ML in 1% of Anything, right?) Anyway, I bet he grew up with his entire family and every one he knows thinking he’s really handsome so he goes off to Hallyu but then how does he compete with all the plastic surgery that created the Lee Min hos and Ji Chang wooks? (And believe me, despite how upset that makes people when I say it, all you have to do is go back to their very first dramas to see. It’s plainly evident.)
But anyway, I think he would’ve been a much bigger star if plastic surgery were not the norm. And there’s not much he can do with his features surgery-wise because there’s nothing wrong with him.
@beez @eda
I agree that he would’ve been a bigger star.
One time I was watching the 1%, and at some point I had to step away from the TV. I left it on, so I continued listening (without understanding anything, of course). I was really surprised and impressed how naturally his voice sounded.
I decided to repeat that accidental experiment and listened to JCW in Healer. I could tell right away that he was acting. His looks distracted me from his talking.
I still think JCW did very well in Healer, but that experiment made me wonder.
@MariaF – I really, really like JCW’s acting in Healer. I think he brings just the right tone for every one of his “characters” within his character. From the goofy college student (with the bad wig), to bumbling Bong soo, to competent Healer, and even the Fake Jung hoo on top of real Jung hoo when he goes to the police station pretending to be a punk who just arrived from America. (He’s even dancing a bit and JCW is known as a terrible dancer yet he manages to make his bouncing to the rhythm look natural). Pitch perfect, imo. Oh! I almost forgot – his anguish as he wrestles with thinking his father committed suicide and what that means for himself.
Those performances, and I shouldn’t slight PMY either here, but they make Healer what is – a bit of everything. One thing I’ve learned to love about Kdramas that I used to absolutely hate is that they don’t stick to one genre. I still don’t like it when something starts out as a rom-com but then suddenly everyone has terminal cancer. But on a whole, even with serious subject matter, they find a way to add something humorous. And isn’t real life like that? Even in the worst of times something can make us laugh. At least that’s how it is in my culture. I think the similarities amongst the foreign differences is what keeps me interested.
Back to JCW, as eda mentioned before, he’s gives a really amazing performance in Empress Ki as he starts out as a spoiled rotten cowardly prince who’s pretty funny, but he evolves into an Emperor full of flaws and insecurities who slowly descends into madness.
I guess knowing his capabilities makes me not doubt what he chooses to do in Healer. I find his choices golden.
@beez –
Oh, I absolutely love JCW in Healer!
There is no question about it. I think he was perfect for that role.
And I listened just for a few minutes, during one episode.
But I was surprised.
this is the most interesting experiment. on the other hand, i do not know how much we can judge anybody’s voice without knowing the language.
the acting in healer is top, from absolutely every one, i already talked about it.
but i have a question, may be beez would know. i do not remember where i heard it, that the voices that we hear are actually not their originals, but other actors’. is that true, and why and is it a common occurrence?
@eda – I heard that from phl1rxd, but only about Chinese dramas. I think she said, but I’m not positive if I’ve got it right, that it’s because the actors speak one language but it needs to be dubbed in Cantonese. Or was it Mandarin? Phl1rxd would have to answer that.
As for Korean dramas, that’s their own natural voices.
@eda
You can.
I bet the dog from that story didn’t understand what actors were talking about. But it could tell whether actors were just pretending being angry, surprised, sad, etc., or they were experiencing those emotions for real.
dog??? what dog??? i re-read the last several posts but didn’t see anyone talking about a dog??? Did i get lost again?
This is from my earlier post:
I read a story once about a director, who worked in a provincial theater.
During rehearsals his little dog sat under his chair. Every time, as soon as rehearsals ended, the dog would immediately show up, ready to leave. That dog somehow knew, that the rehearsal was over.
One time an actor from a big city came to that town to play in that theater. The rehearsal started, and at some point that actor started talking. The dog immediately showed up.
Apparently, that actor spoke so naturally, that the dog decided, that the rehearsal was over.
There are too many posts here. I’m being serious. We need to move to a new thread, because this one is not manageable. I too missed quite a few posts. Or came across them days later.
@MariaF – Ohhhhhh yeah. I did read that post but forgot about it. (Sorry-term memory issues.)
By the way, thanks for cutting & pasting it here, but did you know you could copy a link to your text like these (I just picked a couple of random comments:
https://thefangirlverdict.wpcomstaging.com/2022/02/16/spoiler-zone-healer-episodes-1-2/#comment-111745
https://thefangirlverdict.wpcomstaging.com/2022/02/16/spoiler-zone-healer-episodes-1-2/#comment-111740
While the thread is getting long, there’s really nowhere else to post/discuss and I don’t think Kfangirl minds since more traffic (posts) equates more traffic to her advertisers’ eyes. And this is not the longest thread ever on this site. I think we’re good.
@beez – I’m not suggesting to stop the conversation. But we already have 2 active spoiler threads. KFG will create the new open and spoiler threads soon. As I said before, I’m already having trouble remembering what I said and where I said it. I’d personally prefer to continue our conversations in the new threads.
kind of right. but so tempting.
@MariaF – I guess I don’t get what you mean because once those threads are open, the conversations will just move over there anyway.
@beez-
This conversation has not.
This is a spoiler thread for ep. 1 and 2, right? We already have a spoiler thread for ep. 3 and 4. On Wednesday there’s going to be a new thread to discuss ep. 5 and 6.
@MariaF – MariaF – ohhh. I see. You’re right. However, until KFG tells me I must move on, I see no reason to discontinue my conversation. Was I not taking your hint? 😁 If you’d like, I’ll leave you out of this one until – if we find something to discuss together in the other threads. (It just so happens, I think eda and I were winding down anyway, but if she or I think of something we want to say about A Frozen Flower (or whatever we were yakking about 😆, I’ll come right back here (that’s if I remember where we were. Thanks to your comment, I think I will.) 😆
When I see others engage in off topic discussions, if I’m not interested I just glanceand move on to the next comment/thread. \_(ツ)_/¯
You know, if you got tired of the conversation and didn’t respond, no one’s feelings would be hurt. I would’ve assumed (as we all do here), that you didn’t see it amongst so many comments throughout this entire web site and just kept things moving.
@beez-
I wasn’t suggesting to discontinue the conversation. I don’t believe I have the right to do so anyway.
I was saying that, because there are so many active Healer threads, I get confused, which thread I’m in, and where we discuss what.
I’m still relatively new to this. So far the discussions continued in new threads, once these new threads were created by KFG (even if those discussions were on the same subject).
However, our discussion didn’t move from ep’s 1&2 thread to ep’s 3&4’ thread.
This time we’ve continued “talking” in both ep 1&2 and ep 3&4 spoiler threads. So, it’s become a bit hard for me to follow.
But again, nobody has to do anything. Like you suggested, if I get totally confused, I’ll just stop responding to the older threads. That’s all.
👍 ✌
maria, i am not so sure. one can not make a conclusion based on just one or two experiments, especially trying to analyze animal behavior. may be you need to extend your experiment and see if it still holds water. also, i do not believe that you can base it on a dog’s reaction (although i love the story), a dog’s hearing is much more acute than ours, a dog reacts to the tone of the voice. so regardless whether this is acting or real, he’ll react to the vibrations that we are not privy to. in addition, from my personal experience with animals that i had my entire life, from wild to domesticated, i can tell you that they are extremely tuned into our minds (it never ceases to amaze me, till today), therefore who know what he read in the human minds, but surely it was not based on “is this acting or real”. so this is my two cents.
also, i wanted to say, every actor is ACTING, no exception, some better than others and depending on the degree of perfection of acting we judge it or perceive it as real.
Of course they are acting. It would be weird (or even dangerous), if they didn’t.
Regarding that accidental experiment, I listened during the first 3 or 4 minutes of the ep. 7 (I think). And I shared how it made me feel. It’s not a big deal, really.
I don’t know enough about animals to determine how accurate that story was.
@beez, plastic surgeries??? (to what extent?) never thought of it. but this MS from 1% of something also has this option – i can see a lot that can be changed and improved. of course, i personally am completely against any invasive procedure on my body – that includes needles and even more so knives. but the world today looks at it from a very different perspective, and i understand that for some people improving their looks is of utmost importance (don’t get me wrong, it is important to me too, but without interventions). my problem with this actor is that he really did not impress me in any way as an actor. you ah in, in some of the movies/dramas does not have the best of the looks (intentional on his part) and he is not afraid to look like it. but his inner beauty and the genius as an actor simply shines and fills all around him – you literally feel it through the screen of the tv. it is absolutely amazing.
@eda
You can’t compare every actor to you ah in. That bar is too high.
By the way, there are people who hated his acting in SLA. I, on the other hand, thought he was mesmerizing. Difference of opinions.
@eda-
Don’t worry: I’m not afraid of harsh.
I don’t mind that the OTP doesn’t look picture perfect.
To be honest, actors’ boyish/doll-like faces sometimes make it difficult for me to take their characters seriously.
I do like the fact that, while ML previously dated movie stars and such, he finds FL very pretty.
I don’t know which episode you are watching (if you are still watching the show), but in episode 11 FL is trying on different outfits to wear to the company dinner. They are pretty sexy.
By the way, what I find especially strange about ML clothes is the fact that other characters in the show look totally normal, business-like. I believe ML was the only one who wore polka-dot shirts.
maria, I do like the fact that, while ML previously dated movie stars and such, he finds FL very pretty.
this one is just one redeeming quality here.
i finished this drama today in the very early hours of the morning – it is one cheeeeeeeeeeeesy morsel of a drama. ok, there is one detail that i sort of appreciate: they told us about the rest of their happy lives, including kids in the near future. usually many of these dramas leave the rest to your own imagination, and you can do with it whatever direction you want to take it.
her outfits in the store: you say They are pretty sexy. i am not attracted to synthetic, shiny materials, and the designs were mostly tacky and had a cheap look. sorry.
@eda
I have to say: I’m impressed that you watched the whole show, although you hated it. I would’ve dropped it, jackets or not. By the way, I literally had to pause the show once, to check what kind of pattern one of ML’s shirts had: flowers or bugs.
On the subject of sexy outfits:
I didn’t say they were classy. They probably suited a streetwalker, especially the first one, but they were sexy and she looked good in them (legs and all).
About OTP and the show in general.
I thought that ML was very good. I totally believed that he was in love with FL. I liked that there were no artificial “longing” gazes or “passionate” facial expressions. I thought his eyes were melting from love. I remember reading one blogger’s review, where she said that she thought the actors were dating in real life. I had the same thought.
I also liked OTP personalities. Well, his – not in the beginning, obviously. And the way they communicated with each other.
Of course, there were a lot of things that I didn’t like about this show.
But, my liking of this show is mostly not rational. So logical, rational analysis doesn’t matter. Because I don’t care.
@eda
please continue your reporting: I almost fainted myself, laughing. And I already saw those clothes!
If we were picking on everyday people, then I’d say, yes, it’s high school-ish, but I really do expect more from characters on tv. Although maybe that’s unfair since the actors are dong it on their own. 🤔 Yet, often they have their own personal stylist so… that makes me feel it’s okay to go all in on them and expect better taste!
My question is: WHERE did he find those clothes???
😆
@beez, it was my (may be less than successful) joke – the high-school-ish. but it was nice to just imagine us (not that young) girls kind of in high school – it was so long agooooooooooooo.
and yes, it’s totally ok it’s okay to go all in on them and expect better taste!
My eyes!
LOL.
While this is not from a drama, this is from a photo shoot of So Ji sub. To this day, I cannot get over – Who would do this to such a sexy, serious guy??? Who??
I have an entire folder dedicated to crazy fashion. Most from Korean dramas but here’s one from a Chinese drama
MY EYES! I think I was gentler to yours!
Ok, but if we are being serious… Don’t want to sound cynical, but he must have been paid by the brand.
@MariaF – he must’ve been. But I still can’t believe it. That they’d want to dress him (or anybody) that way and even moreso that he’d agree to it! Although, I will say that he’s one Korean actor who has never overly cared what the public thinks.
Forget about public. What was he thinking?
maria, What was he thinking?
may be about his bank account?
You bet!
His compensation must have included an additional payment for emotional distress (humiliation).
@beez, please keep such for the days i am incredibly sad – it will sure help, at least it will create tears of laughter.
@Beez – my poor, poor Ji Sub – no wonder he looks so unhappy.
A sin against all that sexy!
@Beez – yes, and Ji Sub is that ‘serious kind of sexy’. That is a very apt description Beez.
Girrrrrrl! If only I could show you these pics I stumbled across on the internet… They look like the kinds of pics actors get involved in before they get famous but these are not younger pics. Well, I mean, they are now but they’re not pics from before his fame. But they may not have been taken in S. Korea. *whew* *fanning just thinking about them*
DAGNABBIT! I went to look at the pics and either they were lost the time my old phone got dropped on water and I had to get a new one (I lost so much stuff) or I stored them somewhere so I didn’t get caught with them. lololol Does that give you an idea of just how racy…
You know, now that I think about it rationally, with what I know now about Korean celebrities and fame, maybe somebody photoshopped those pics??? 🤔 But I’ve seen photoshopped pictures where the neck isn’t quite at the right angle and, for sure, that was SJS’s body and it was somewhat of an *ahem* action scene. On well, I’ve checked and checked my cloud folders and I can’t find them so best I put it out of my mind. 😆
@Beez – You must be talking about his Sieg Fahrenheit commercials. A real photo shoot so not Photoshopped except for probably little things. I remember seeing them a few years back. He works out like my son does, every single day for hours. He is dedicated.
@phl1rxd – er, no *blushing*. These pics were not fit for even American tv commercials! I thought I was being wink-wink nudge-nudge enough in my previous comments but I guess I need to be a bit more graphic:
You know the pics of Gong Yoo that KFG has of him with the tattoos and the sweat pants very low around his hips and the smoke curling upwards around his torso? That is nothing – NOTHING compared to these pics of SJS! And SJS is but alone in these pictures. He has female “company” if you get my drift. *naughty-naughty, wink-wink-winkety-wink* 😉 😉 😉
Ps. I will be Googling “So Ji Sub Sieg Fahrenheit commercials”
@phl1rxd – So I watched some of SJS’s Sieg Fahrenheit commercials – very nice.
And I can’t believe I found the pictures that I’ve been sputtering about. In the past, I stumbled upon the pictures alone with no context and always wondered why he shot them. Well, apparently they were for a magazine lay out.Welllll, I suppose you’re old enough… https://www.dramabeans.com/2007/10/of-all-the-sources-of-inspiration-they-picked-that-one/
@Beez – those are the very photos I was talking about. I do not know how I confused them with Sieg Fahrenheit (or did I? – I am so confused!). I saw them in an article entitled “So Ji-Sub needs money” in Popseoul. Anyway – they are the ones. I wonder if he regrets these? We all do things we regret and wish we could change. As this was circa 2007, it does not look like it affected his career.
Yeah, those last two shots are not the best PR look for the current (centuries-delayed) era of #MeToo!
@merij @ phl1rxd – even back when I first saw them, I thought I had stumbled onto the dark web or something because I did not think they were meant for polite company. I’m glad I had to go on a search for them or I would’ve never known they were in a regular fashion magazine.
@phl1rxd – yes. After I found these today, I came across the originals which have even more kinky poses and that naked chest with the blazer picture goes down a smidgen further (but it’s a drastic, all important, smidgen). 😆 And yes they were posted by Ji Sub needs money.
As you say, the pictures did not hurt his career. But then if you think about it – Korean movies… Look at how Song Ji hyo (I think that’s her name) who represents all things wholesome as a host on Running Man and yet she’s done at least one very –
what’s the word for “adult” but you don’t mean “adult” as in Xrated but almost Xrated?
– anyway – off topic – hers was an amazing movie. A Frozen Flower. Have you seen it? (Song Ji hyo, Joo Jin Mo and Jo in Sung)
The next time the subject comes up about Korean celebrities and their scandals and who is allowed to date and who isn’t, I’ll have to bring up those “semi-adult” movies and ask “why can’t Oppa date but I can see him doing the hoopity-bouncity in all his butt-naked glory in movies”? (I’m looking at you Song Seung heon, and others.)
@beez, amazing movie. A Frozen Flower.
just finished it. thank you thank you thank you. it literally blew me away. when i checked it out, (since you said it’s “amazing”) i did not know the director or the actors. but it was sounding interesting, especially based on semi-true events. so i dropped everything else and watched it.
now, that’s A MOVIE!!!! the colors, the lighting (o my god, the lighting), the cinematography, the costumes (i never seen such beautiful, interesting costumes in ancient korean dramas -they are usually so boring). the out of this world acting. yes, it is not for every eye – if anybody has a problem with homosexuality, no need to even start. the same goes for insanely realistic scenes of true intimacy, true love and love making – o, but such exquisite beauty- each shot – a separate painting, no less than a peace of body-art. it’s difficult to watch, violence, but i became hypnotized, and nothing could make me move away from the screen.
i truly am not even able to go watch something else at this point, this frozen flower is still lingering in me, mixed with awe and true emotional pain. this is probably going to be one of the highlights of this season, if not THE highlight.
so glad you mentioned it!!!!!!!!!!! beez, thank you for being my korean shifu.
i would put it up there with the throne.
@eda – I’m so glad you liked it! But aside from the production qualities, what did you think of the story?
I’m always asking people after they watch it who do you think is the Frozen Flower?
@beez,
A Frozen Flower takes its title from a song of that era which described the sexual relationships between Hong-rim and the Queen.
i liked the story a lot. it was pretty straight forward, the plot was not “twisted like a pretzel” as many dramas are (which i like, but this was like a breath of fresh air), everything in this production was drenched in extreme earth shattering realism, that greatly appealed to me. i got totally attached and invested in their pain, passion, love… whether it was man to man or man to woman and of course the very real jealousy and the consequences. the physical aspect of it was surprising to see, but with such crushing and shattering power.
does this answer your question?
i also fell in love with the 2 ML’s and the FL, simply incredible acting. i would love to see them in other productions, but am afraid to loose the “aftermath taste” that is now feeling my senses.
@eda – Yes, yes. That’s what I was looking for. The theme of jealousy and how it can destroy everything.
I didn’t know about the song. I, myself, think the Frozen Flower is the Queen. Everyone I ask usually has a different answer. While the two male leads stand out, the Queen is the one “frozen”. The King’s “situation” has made her a forever virgin, forever childless (which defined a woman, especially a queen back then) – she’s frozen for ten years in her marriage until things get set in motion.
yes, i see your point, and yes, it can be viewed like this. but i looked it up, and that’s what it said, that there was a song of that era that depicted specifically their relationship. and may be the songwriter at that time had in mind the “frozen queen’s situation”, i do not think that the queen herself was a frozen personality, it’s the “hand” life presented to her. but she completely switched once true feelings hit her, and there was no return. human emotions, portrayed in SUCH DEAPTH are totally mesmerizing, entrancing, electrifying…
i am probably going to watch it again very soon.
@eda – You misunderstood me. I never said the Queen’s personality was frozen (although, now that you mention it, her personality was cold but for good reason). I said her life was frozen. As in her life circumstances.
Yes, I’ve watched it a couple of times. I’ve even purchased the movie from Amazon. I originally watched it because one of my early biases is in it – Joo Jin mo, the King. I must admit, because of my intense crush on him (isn’t he beautiful as the King?) his early lovemaking scene was hard to watch. lol But once I got past that, the story cleared my mind of any fangirling and became an elevated emotional experience.
@beez, true, her life was frozen, but wasn’t the “melting process” agonizingly stunning?
@eda – how well you put things. 👏 👏 👏
And yes, it absolutely was.
@beez, thanks for the compliment.
@beez, I will be Googling “So Ji Sub Sieg Fahrenheit commercials”
please share.
@eda – there were too many to share. So Ji sub started out as a model and so this is just a clothing line (from what I can see) with lots of behind the scenes of the photo shoots.
@beez, but please explain to me, how is it possible, koreans are so conservative, they will not even really kiss on screen – how did they produce and allowed to show and the koreans LOVED it,(from what i read), such eroticism that you rarely see even in western productions. ? can you explain?
@eda – I can only speculate that because one medium comes into the home where children are but the other is a conscious decision for adults to pay to see…
I actually wish our tv shows would remember that. I do remember when our tv would hold the more mature stuff until after 9pm when all little kiddies should be in bed anyway. But parenting nowadays – kids go to sleep when they fall sleep and watch anything with no supervision or parental counseling about what they’re seeing.
BTW – you will see a bit racier Kdramas on the cable networks. Remember you and I were discussing AsianWiki.com? You can see which network the show comes on in S. Korea and that will give you an idea what to expect. JTCB and OCN are cable networks. I can’t think of any others right now.